Ever since Jesse Leach officially returned to the fold of Killswitch Engage, we were riled up with excitement, especially when we got our first taste of new material. The band has two songs written so far, and in a recent interview with the band's label, Leach expanding more on the process for the new album:
So what can you say about the next record at this point?
I’ve got a couple of songs done, I’ve got a bunch to go, but I’ve got a lot of ideas. I listen to it every once in a while out here just to keep me familiar with it, so when I get home and attempt to finish the record, it’s still fairly fresh in my mind. Sonically, this is definitely – it’s got a more urgent feeling to it. It’s a lot faster, there’s definitely huge melody going on, but the songs are a lot shorter. Not one song really goes over the three and a half, four minute mark. I just anticipate lyrically and vocally it to be a very urgent record. We’re at a state in this world right now where someone needs to talk about what’s going on. There’s a lot of apathy in this world, there’s a lot of really screwed-up stuff in our government and the world’s governments, and the whole class vs. class thing, the protests that happened all around the United States – there’s a lot of unrest, and I think it kinda needs to be touched upon. And it’s up to the metal community to have a voice, and that’s what I’m aiming to do with this next record – make it very important. Make it matter.Are you writing all the lyrics for the new album yourself?
Yes.Given that you’ve been out of the band for 10 years – obviously they’ve welcomed you back, but is everybody on the same page regarding what the songs will be about? Are you running the lyrics past them as you go?
Oh, yeah, this band is a total democracy, which is great. Coming back into it, the guys basically said, “Do what you wanna do – we trust you,” but I like to show them my progress, so I send them demos, I’ll show them my lyrics and concepts for the songs. And so far, every single person’s been really excited about my ideas, and probably just the energy that I’m bringing to the project.How does writing for Killswitch differ from writing for Times of Grace, or even for your old band, Seemless?
I think for Times of Grace, that was just – that record happened at a particular time in my life where I couldn’t help but write those lyrics, 'cause that’s exactly what I was going through. I think with Killswitch now, I’m looking outward to the world, and I want people to be able to relate to it on a bigger level. Times of Grace was a very personal album for me and Adam [D.], and as far as Seemless goes, I mean, Seemless has been gone for years now. I’m definitely a different person than I was in the Seemless days. I think more importantly, with the Killswitch stuff going forward, I want it to be crucial, I want it to matter. I want people to be able to relate to it, you know?
Read the entire interview here.
